Codemasters: Our Games Suck

Well it turns out Wii U isn’t getting F1 2012. Codemasters pulled an interesting stunt by announcing Wii U would get a Formula 1 game, then a few months later we hear about F1 All Stars, the Mario Kart ripoff. Now it’s been made apparent why this game exists: Codemasters have a contractual obligation to the FIA that requires them to release a Formula 1 licensed game on every mainstream platform (which is also why Vita and 3DS have their own butchered versions of the game). Absolutely terrified of releasing a normal game on Wii U, F1 All Stars fits the bill, and that’s good enough for Codemasters. In this interview we find out what they’re really thinking.

“I think when you bring this over to the Wii where the audience is perhaps a bit more casual and they’re less likely to buy it year-on-year, you have to look at a slightly different strategy.”

Somehow they studied Wii owners and found out that people only bought one F1 game on Wii. They are absolutely correct, because there is only one F1 game on the Wii. F1 2009 by Sumo Digital; that’s right, Codemasters didn’t even develop it themselves. Despite this game being rushed out the door, IT STILL SOLD WELL!

“I also think it’s looking at the Wii SKU that we did. It did really well but there’s still questions with sales numbers… whether it is something that annually we could revisit year-on-year [and] would sell the same number of units year on year.”

It did really well but.. but we don’t know if… what? WHERE’S THE QUESTION? F1 2010 and F1 2011 didn’t sell on Wii… because they were never made! Then he compares it to Fifa and unwittingly makes fun of his own game.

“[For] something like football, you need the newest content and there’s lots of changes, but with F1 the changes with the teams and drivers are really quite minimal, so instantly you’re quite stretched for new content.”

Holy shit maybe you guys should think about adding stuff then! F1 changes just as much as any other sport, we have new tyre compounds, different track cycles, different driver line-ups, new setup options. What changes in Fifa, new players? NEW SOCCER FIELDS? DIFFERENT FAN CHANTS? WHAT THE FUCK? EA is doing more than OK making new games out of these changes. Somehow this logic only applies to one system as well, because the PS3 / Xbox 360 games are still being made annually. Is he suggesting we shouldn’t buy these minimal changes? Is F1 2012 going to be the same as F1 2009? What a conundrum, Codemasters. IF ONLY THERE WAS SOMETHING NEW TO IMPROVE THE GAME EXPERIENCE!

Let’s see, we have motion steering at our fingertips. Tablet screen for lap data, opponent positions, track map, accel / brake graphs, tyre temperatures, steering wheel gadgets, wing and setup adjustments. Speaker for team radio discussion. It could be a side mirror, it could be both side mirrors. You could slash the screen to tear off a layer of the helmet visor when it gets fogged up or wet. HOLY SHIT, it’s better than LAST YEAR’S GAME!

No, it’s not. So what ARE they doing? Instead of focusing on the game we’re getting more fluff. Fully voiced tips from ex-F1 driver Anthony Davidson! Videos of laps!

“A new developer diary, also released today, details several of F1 2012’s new features including the Young Driver Test, which will act as the game’s tutorial mode, teaching the player about the nuances of racing a FORMULA ONE car.”

Thank god for that, this will be a great help to all those people who buy the game not knowing what Formula 1 is. With all these tutorials you might think that maybe they’re trying to get new people into F1? A bigger audience, WHERE COULD THAT BE?

Codemasters, pull your heads out of your arses or give someone else the license; you’re neglecting the only responsibility you have. F1 is exciting, your games are boring, glitchy and just painful to sit through. I don’t want to answer 30 questions about my career before I can drive some laps, and I don’t care how realistic the garage looks. The menu should be a MENU, not a crappy third person adventure. I could write a whole review on how bad F1 2010 and 2011 are, but that’s not what this is about. Do your jobs as game developers and make games that are games that I can play and do things with. Even Sony tried to do more with the PSP wing mirrors in Formula 1 2006, and when Sony is beating you in innovation you have a serious fucking problem.